Israel’s Eurovision contestant booed during dress rehearsal ahead of Thursday’s semi-final

Israel’s Kan broadcaster, which coordinates the country’s participation in the contest, said: “[The crowd] did not silence her and they will not silence us. See you tomorrow.”

On Thursday, Kan wrote to the European Broadcasting Union and SVT, Sweden’s public broadcaster, to request they work to prevent a repeat of the incident and ensure they allow Israel to compete fairly in tonight’s semi-final.

Eurovision organisers said they are expecting political protests in Malmo, a coastal city in Sweden’s south close to Copenhagen, with extra police being brought in from Denmark and Norway.

Speaking to the JC this week, Golan admitted she was “overwhelmed by different emotions” by being one of the most controversial contestants in the competition’s history.

Despite being advised by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency to stay in her hotel room, she did make a surprise appearance to join Malmo’s small Jewish community to mark Yom HaShoah, and said she was “looking forward to seeing the audience and feeling their energy” despite death threats made to the Israeli delegation and calls for viewers to boycott Eurovision this year.